Heating and cooling apparatus



Feb. 19, 1935. D, H eg N's 1,991,897

HEATING AND COOLING APPARATUS Filed April 28,- 1952 INVENTOR ATTORNEYSPatented Feb. 19, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application April 28,1932, Serial No. 607,911

2 Claim.

This invention relates to-the conditioning of -air and relates moreparticularly to apparatus for thecooling of air.

When warm air containing moisture passes a cooled surface, moisture fromthe air is precipitated upon the colled surface, if the surface has atemperature approaching that of the dew point of the air. For example,where a surface cooler is provided for cooling the air within'anenclosure, if the temperature of the surface cooler is maintainedsufiiciently low, moisture precipitates upon the outside surfaces of thecooler and as the warm air continuously passes the cooler, this moistureaccumulates and is undesirable.

An object of this invention is to cool air'while preventing theprecipitation of moisture upon the outer surface of the cooling means.

Another object of the invention is to provide a surface cooler for thecooling of air with an outer casing which is insulated from the coolingmeans.

Another object of the invention is to prevent the condensation ofmoisture upon the outer surfaces of a surface cooler by providinginsulating airbetween the outer surfaces and the cooling surfaces.

In one embodiment of this invention a surface cooler, comprising aplurality of extended surface tubes through which a chilling medium iscirculated, is provided. For example, chilled water may be circulatedfrom any convenient source through the cooling coils. As an alternative,the refrigerant from a refrigeration plant may be expanded directly inthe coils. A fan is provided to blow the warm air of the enclosure, theair of which is to be cooled, over the extended surfaces of the coolingcoils to provide a stream of cooled moving air. It has been found thatwhen a casing is placed directly around the cooling surfaces of such acooler, moisture from the air precipitates upon the outer surfaces ofthe casing under certain conditions andthis moisture is undesirable. Itnot only is unsightly in its appearance upon the casing, but if suitableprovision is not made for its collection and disposal, it drips downinto the space below the cooler.

According to a feature of this invention, the outer casing or housing ofa surface cooler is spaced from a casing housing the cooling surfaces,and a current of the warm air drawn in by the fan is passed between theouter casing and thecasing housing the cooling surfaces, baflles,filters, and other associated apparatus. This warm air effectivelyinsulates the outer enclosing surfaces 55 from the cooling efiect of thecooling surfaces .is supported, and which may be arranged with toprevent the outer surfaces from being chilled to a temperature lowenough formoisture to be precipitated thereon by the warm air passingthereby. The fan associated with the surface cooler passes air to becooled over the cooling 5 surfaces, which air passes into the enclosure,the air of which is to be cooled. The same fan passes a blanket of airsubstantially completely around the housing of the cooling surfaces andbetween this housing and the outer supporting casing, this latter air,of course, being warm air which serves as an air blanket to prevent theouter supporting casing from being chilled by the cooled air.

The invention will now be described with reference to the drawing, ofwhich:

Fig. 1 is a front view, with cover removed, of a surface cooleraccording to this invention;

Fig. 2 is a side sectional view along the lines- 22 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 3 is a projected view of an assembled surface cooler embodying thisinvention.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2, the tubes 5 are provided with theextended surfaces 6 which serve to increase the absorption surface ofthe cooling coils. The tubes 5 are interconnected and between the twoends 7 of the coil formed thereby, a cooling medium is circulated. 'Thefan motor 8, which may be an electric motor, revolves the fan blades 9to draw warm air from the rear, looking at Fig. 2, and to project sameover the surfaces of the cooling coils. The housing 10 is provided forenclosing the cooling surfaces. Completely surrounding the housing 10and spaced therefrom is the outer housing 11 by which the fan motorhangers for supporting the entire structure. This housing 11 is spacedfrom the inner housing 10 except for the supporting members 12 which maybe provided at each of the four comers of the two housings.

In operation, as shown by the arrows in Fig. 2, the warm air is drawn bythe fan into the space within the housing 11. The major portion of thisair passes between the tubes 5 and in contact with the tubes and theextended surfaces 6 provided thereon and is cooled by the removal ofheat by the surfaces having a lower temperature, and a portion of theair passes in the space between the housings 10 and 11. This latter airis not cooled to any appreciable extent by the action of the coolingsurfaces so that this portion of the air acts effectively as an airblanket to prevent the outer housing 11 from being cooled to anysubstantial extent, With this arrangement, warm air continuously passesin the space separating the housings 10 and 11 while cooled air passescontinuously over the surfaces of the cooling coils.

Due to the action oi. the air blanket, the outer housing 11 cannot becooled to a temperature suiliciently low to cause the precipitation ofany moisture thereon from the air passing thereby.

Fig. 3 is a typical arrangement of a manufactured product embodying theinvention. The arrangement is shown similar to the diagrammatic views ofFigs. 1 and 2 except that the inner housing 10 is provided with thehorizontal louvres 13 and the vertical louvres 14 which may be adjustedto deflect the cooled air in any manner desirable. V

While condensation does'not take place upon the outer surfaces of thehousing 11, it is realized, of course, that condensation will take placewithin the housing 10. As is usual in surface coolers, this condensationmay be disposed of by a drip outlet connected to the interior of theinner housing.

While it is preferred that the current of warm air produced by the fanassociated with the cooler serves as the insulating blanket forpreventing the chilling of the outer enclosing housing, it should beappreciated, of course, that the space between the inner and outerhousing could be vfilled with an insulating material which would serveto prevent the extraction of heat from the outer housing by the actionof the cooling surfaces.

While the invention has been described in connection with a cooler unitutilizing a fan blowing the air to be cooledover the cooling surfaces,it should be appreciated; of course, that the air circulating fan couldbe placed on the other end or the cooling surfaces to draw the warm airthrough the unit.

Whereas one embodiment of the invention has beendescribed for thepurpose of illustration, it should be understood that the invention isnot to be limited to the details described as many modifications may bemade by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit oithe invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An air cooler comprising an inner housing open at both ends, aplurality of horizontal cooling coils arranged crosswise the housing andsupported therefrom, a second rectangular housing open at both endssurrounding and spaced from said housing, and a fan and a motor fordriving same supported from said second housing and arranged to the rearof said coils for forcing air to be cooled over said coils and betweensaid housings.

2. An air cooler comprising a rectangular outer housing, a substantiallysmaller rectangular inner housing placed within the front portion ofsaid outer housing and in support therefrom, a plurality of horizontalcooling coils supported from said inner housing and arranged crosswisethereof, and a fan within the inner portion of said outer housing andsupported therefrom for forcing air to be conditioned over said coilsand between said inner and outer housings.

- DARRAGH LORING HIGGINS.

